[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 68 (Tuesday, June 6, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E902]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                    IN TRIBUTE TO JACK EDWARD TANNER

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JIM McDERMOTT

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 6, 2000

  Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor my friend, Jack 
Edward Tanner, for his outstanding career as a federal judge and his 
unwavering commitment to ensuring that all Americans are treated fairly 
in our judicial system. Judge Tanner has set a standard of excellence 
that we all should aspire too. On May 17, 1978, the Senate of the 
United States did unanimously consent to the nomination of Jack Edward 
Tanner to serve as United States District Judge for the Eastern and 
Western Districts of Washington. On June 2, 1978, Jack E. Tanner took 
the oath of office administered by Marshall A. Neil, Chief Judge 
Eastern District of Washington, in Tacoma, Washington. On this date, 
Judge Tanner has completed 22 years on the federal judiciary. We salute 
him as one of this nation's ``Great Native Sons.''
  The path to the United States District Court was paved with 
distinguished achievements. As the son of Trixie and Ernie Tanner, Jack 
and his two siblings, Erna and Bob, were shielded from poverty, but not 
injustice. As pioneers in the Northwest, the Tanner family was often 
singled out and later called upon for leadership. Like his father, 
young Jack excelled in sports in grade school, junior high, and at 
Stadium High School. For a sports career, however, young Jack was born 
too soon, in the mid-thirties the Major Leagues, for which he was ably 
qualified, was not yet integrated by Blacks.
  After serving in the United States military in one of its segregated, 
``Jim Crow'' units, Jack returned to the waterfront as a longshoreman, 
while attending college at the University of Puget Sound. Working on 
the docks in Commencement Bay as a longshoreman provided the foundation 
for Jack's dedication to the needs and concerns of blue-collar workers 
and others. This perspective has never left him and it is reflected in 
many of his federal decisions.
  The headlines of the Tacoma News Tribune for Sunday, December 29, 
1963 feature Tacoma's Top Ten Stories and Personalities. It is no 
wonder that a photo of Jack Tanner and the controversial ``Open Housing 
Referendum No. 4'' are prominent. Arguing for fair housing in 1963 
brought to Tacoma, and to Washington State, the nation's struggle for 
equal rights for all.
  Jack challenged Washington State to address de-facto segregation in 
schools and housing. As local NAACP President and national NAACP board 
member, lawyer Tanner believed that the direct action taken by the 
student demonstrators in the South also would be effective in the 
Northwest. With others, he led a march against discriminatory housing 
in the Tri-cities. This was done despite the wishes of some Blacks, who 
believed they would be burdened rather than benefited. As a result of 
Tanner's urging, efforts undertaken in Seattle to de-segregate the 
public schools resulted in the First non-court ordered desegregation 
plan in the United States. Jack's effective approach blended the best 
of the strategies used by the NAACP and the student non-violent 
protests.
  John F. Kennedy, the President of the United States, invited Jack to 
attend the White House on two different occasions. In June, 1963, just 
after the assassination of Medgar Evers, the nation was in crisis. 
Tanner as a leader in the Northwest, worked closely with his friend 
Senator Warren Magnuson, the Chair of Senate Commerce Committee, to 
help Kennedy's famous 1964 Civil Rights Bill get introduced. Equality 
in public accommodations, the core of the bill, opened the way for 
later legislation on voting rights, fair housing and employment.
  Clarence Mitchell, Director of the Washington Bureau for the NAACP 
said it best, ``It is a fact that the passage of the Civil Rights bill 
has come about because of the tremendous and consistent work that you 
and others have done to make it possible. It is true that there have 
been some magnificent contributions by Senate leaders in this fight, 
but it was also you and the people that you represented who used your 
resources to make it possible for us to get a successful vote. 
Therefore, I wish to thank you and to let you know that this is your 
time of triumph.''
  As Washington's First African-American member of the federal 
judiciary, controversy did not elude Judge Tanner. Among the first 
cases he decided, he drew sharp criticism: by finding conditions at 
Walla Walla State Penitentiary, as cruel and unusual punishment 
(Hoptowit case); the unconstitutionality of the 1982 anti-busing 
initiative; and unequal pay for women by the State of Washington, known 
nationally as the Comparable Worth case. In this landmark decision, 
Judge Tanner decided that the state's policy of paying lower salaries 
in 14,000 jobs, held predominately by women, than those paid in 
comparable jobs held by men, ``overwhelmingly constituted direct, 
overt, and institutionalized discrimination.''
  In the midst of criticism, Judge Tanner continued to rule on cases, 
by doing what he believes is right, and not for personal gain or 
popularity. But Father, he rules from the heart and the law to improve 
the lives of others, especially those who have been historically 
disenfranchised. We Thank you Judge Tanner for Being our Shining 
Judicial Light.
  On this day, June 6, 2000 and in celebration of 22 years on the 
federal judiciary and for his life-time achievements, I, Jim McDermott, 
as United States Congressman from the Seventh Congressional District, 
along with the entire Washington delegation, ask that the Congressional 
Record reflect, the ``Triumph of this Native Son, the Honorable Jack E. 
Tanner, a Tacoman, a Washingtonian and a True American.''

                          ____________________